A kettlebell is a long used exercise with a handle. The kettlebell dates back to the early twentieth century and is attributed to a Russian heritage. The kettlebell comes in different weights, typically from 9 pounds to 90 pounds and is used as a weight lifting device to improve musculature, strength and coordination as well as reduce the risk of injury. One of the typical exercises with a kettlebell is to lift the device and, as the device is raised upwardly, to flip it over so as to rest on the back of the wrist of the user. It is different from a typical dumbbell because the mass of the kettlebell is cantilevered away from the grasp of the user's hand allowing for a dynamic load to the body as it is flipped over during the exercise.
The unique shape of the kettlebell allows a mass center to be located more distal to the joint than a dumbbell and the additional lever of the kettlebell, by placing a resistance distal to the handle, provides a unique challenge to the nervous systems well as the grip. As such, the user encounters much greater inertial forces and which may provide a distinct advantage when attempting to transfer swing gains to athletic tasks with a strong inertial component, such as baseball pitching, a golf swing, Olympic lifts etc.
One problem associated with the traditional kettlebells is that the device has a generally crude appearance that has remained relatively unchanged throughout its long history. The shape affects the comfort of the user while exercising, and in particular, in carrying out the basic exercise where the kettlebell is flipped over the handle and stopped on the back of the wrist, the ball shape and iron material can cause discomfort and bruising to the user especially to the beginner who has not mastered the technique.
Another problem associated with the traditional kettlebells is that each kettlebell had a specific weight, generally measured in kilograms, and therefore, the user requires multiple kettlebells with different weights to do a variety of exercises requiring a unit for each hand. For a trainer this means carrying and storing many different kettlebells with different weights and bulk.
There have been kettlebells disclosed with adjustable weights and which include round flat weights positioned perpendicular to the handle, round flat weights located parallel to the handle and the like. As an example, there is a kettlebell shown and described in U.S. Published Patent Application 2006/0035767 where the device has removable and replaceable weights.
However, even with the adding and subtracting of weights, making the overall weight adjustable, there are further problems in that the center of gravity moves with the change of the weights and which is not advantageous for the user where a uniform location of the center of gravity is desirable in optimizing the benefit of the exercise. In addition, the adding and subtracting of weights though current systems changes the size and shape of the kettlebell, again, an undesirable feature.
Others devices are constructed in uncomfortable and dangerous forms and, generally, there are difficulties in exchanging the weights quickly and problems in attaching the weights securely. Further problems include the lack of a convenient storage for the weights as well as difficulty in readily identifying the weight of the kettlebell after a change in weight.
Accordingly, it would, therefore, be desirable to have a kettlebell that overcomes the aforementioned difficulties and problems in existing kettlebells.